GLENWOOD HIGH SCHOOL · · 2019-10-11attendance at Glenwood High School has risen with 93.1% of students attending each day on average. Sixty three students were congratulated on

GLENWOOD HIGH SCHOOL Innovation Opportunity Diversity Success

2013 ANNUAL SCHOOL REPORT

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School Context

In 2013, approximately 1,496 students attended Glenwood High School. Our students come from a broad range of backgrounds and help make Glenwood High School an inclusive environment for all. The school opened in 2005 and is a large comprehensive and coeducational secondary school in Sydney’s north-west region. Approximately 51% of our students are from a language background other than English. The school enjoys an excellent reputation in the community and is considered to be a school of choice in the local area. This report details the range of academic, sporting and artistic achievements of students at Glenwood High School in 2013. Our students are to be commended for the way in which they represent their school and community in a positive manner.

Principal’s Message

2013 was a year of consolidation and celebration at Glenwood High School. The school implemented a variety of professional learning events for all executive and classroom teachers. In August, the first school conference was held on a Saturday with a particular focus on improved Higher School Certificate outcomes and planning for the implementation of the Australian Curriculum. Other professional learning events focused on the engagement and developmental growth of students with a variety of learning styles, including those with particular learning and support needs. Through sustained and practical professional learning, staff at Glenwood High School continue to improve their practice, ensuring greater student achievement both inside and outside the classroom. This was clearly evident in the most outstanding Higher School Certificate results achieved by Year 12 students in the history of the school.

During the school’s pastoral care lesson, Connect, teachers implemented a number of programs to support the academic and social development of all students. In Connect on Tuesday mornings, all students were explicitly taught the school’s Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL) expectations. This reinforced positive behaviour while redirecting inappropriate behaviours. Teachers used a variety of stimulus to encourage students to discuss and recognise appropriate behaviours in a variety of settings. It is with pride that the school is able to celebrate the positive

behaviour of all students. This time also enabled teachers to focus on academic areas of need for different year groups. The NAPLAN preparation package for Year 9 was particularly successful when taught during Connect in 2013.

2013 saw the launch of the Community Mentoring Program at Glenwood High School. Targeted students in Year 11 were invited to meet with a community mentor over breakfast a number of times throughout the school year. Students were partnered with a volunteer mentor who works in their professional field of interest. The mentor supports the student by helping them with life skills such as goal setting and communicating in a work environment. The student shadows the mentor at their professional workplace for a day and gains valuable insight into the professional world for their own future reference.

An enthusiastic approach to school spirit through a renewed focus on rewarding students and celebrating success was a highlight of 2013. Student leadership opportunities were expanded with a greater role created for our Year 11 House Captains. A dedicated House Coordinator was appointed who guided student leaders in facilitating a variety of social, academic and sporting activities for all students who gained points for their house. This culminated in the winning house receiving the House Cup for the year. These social, sporting and academic competitions improved student participation in many events across the school.

Students continued to be recognised both locally and nationally for their skills and talents in a variety of arenas. Glenwood High School is extremely proud of the achievements of all students and in particular, the ways in which they support each other both inside and outside the classroom. Glenwood High School students are globally aware and have the celebrated ability to empathise with others by seeing the world from another’s perspective.

I certify that the information in this report is the result of a rigorous school self-evaluation process and is a balanced and genuine account of the school’s achievements and areas for development.

Erla McMaster

Principal

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P&C Message

The Parents and Citizens Association (P&C) has once again continued to foster positive relationships between the school community and the staff at Glenwood High School during the year.

Our objective is to promote the interests of the school by bringing parents, citizens, students and teaching staff into closer cooperation.

The P&C meets regularly, on the first Wednesday of each month at 7pm in the school conference room. These meetings are a great forum for members of our school community to receive information, contribute ideas, discuss issues and give feedback to members of the school executive.

In 2013, our major social event was a ‘Back to School’ themed trivia night. It was fantastic to see all who attended get into the spirit of the night, dressing up in some interesting school uniforms. Once again, our local community was extremely generous with their sponsorship, which enabled us to raise more funds to give back to the school to further enhance our fantastic facilities.

Our yearly levy of $10 per child was again well-received and supported by our families in 2013.

The levy has allowed the P&C to continue to organise major optional fundraising events as well as contribute towards drinks and snacks at school dance parties and Year 7 Orientation Day. We have also contributed some of these funds towards the establishment and ongoing maintenance of the school’s iPhone app, the purchase of jerseys for sports groups, contributions towards presentation ceremonies and funds for the Australian Business Week challenge, all without having to burden our school community with selling chocolates and raffle tickets.

The P&C will continue to enhance the relationship between our parent community, staff members and the community at large to ensure that the students of Glenwood High School have the additional resources required to assist them to receive the best education possible. We look forward to working closely with the school with regard to some exciting new projects in 2014.

Martine Balcombe

P&C President

Student Representatives’ Message

In 2013, the Student Representative Council (SRC) consisted of thirty students from Years 7 to Year 12. Over the course of the year, members of the SRC expanded their teamwork and communication skills by participating in various programs and activities. The leadership, organisational skills and confidence of many students developed as a result of their involvement with the SRC.

Students were involved in the following projects:

Several SRC school-based workshops during Connect lessons to develop and refine the leadership skills of students.

A team building workshop at Morisset focusing on outdoor education to help students refine their teamwork skills.

Addressing and acting on student issues and suggestions brought to the attention of the SRC.

Supporting various school events, both during and outside of school hours, including the school musical and parent-teacher nights.

Encouraging school spirit by holding activities such as student versus teacher matches and school dances.

Supporting and raising awareness of cancer within the school through the World’s Greatest Shave event.

Raising funds to provide students with up-to-date facilities such as the new electronic noticeboard in the library.

Charles Constantinou Archita Sreekumar School Captain School Captain

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Student Information

It is a requirement that the reporting of information for all students be consistent with privacy and personal information policies.

Student Enrolment Profile

Glenwood High School commenced operation in 2005 and has experienced considerable growth in student enrolments since then due to the expanding nature of the school. Whilst there has been some growth from 2012 to 2013, the school anticipates that student numbers will now move from a period of stabilisation to a possible reduction with the opening of a new public high school at The Ponds. This new school is expected to commence operations in 2015. As Glenwood High School has an excellent reputation in the community, we expect to maintain strong enrolment figures into the future.

Student Attendance Profile

In 2013, attendance rates at Glenwood High School continued to exceed the state average and regional average for every grade. This is due to the fact that the school proactively responds to attendance issues and implements a number of strategies and monitoring systems to promote the importance of attendance. This includes whole school monitoring and also support for individual students requiring more specific attention and guidance.

Management of Non-Attendance

Glenwood High School manages issues relating to the non-attendance of students in a number of ways. As a large metropolitan high school, there was a continued focus on improving systems in

Gender 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

Male 370 501 629 696 752 764 801

Female 341 454 572 644 676 698 695

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1500

2000

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

Stu

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Year

Enrolments

Male Female

Year 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

7 94.1 94.3 95.0 94.2 95.6

8 92.6 94.0 92.7 93.4 92.9

9 91.7 92.3 92.7 91.8 94.2

10 93.1 91.4 90.3 89.5 89.5

11 91.9 92.4 91.8 90.5 92.8

12 90.4 90.5 92.6 92.6 93.2

Total 92.1 92.6 92.6 92.5 91.9 93.1

7 92.2 92.7 92.5 92.1 93.3

8 89.7 90.4 89.9 90.0 91.0

9 88.5 89.0 88.8 88.3 89.7

10 88.3 87.9 86.9 86.6 87.4

11 89.8 89.7 88.1 87.1 88.3

12 89.5 90.2 89.6 89.2 90.0

Total 89.8 89.6 90.0 89.3 88.8 89.9

7 92.3 92.6 92.5 92.4 93.2

8 90.0 90.5 90.1 90.1 90.9

9 88.8 89.1 88.8 88.7 89.4

10 88.7 88.3 87.1 87.0 87.7

11 89.4 89.1 87.6 87.6 88.3

12 89.4 89.8 89.2 89.3 90.1

Total 89.9 89.7 89.9 89.2 89.1 89.9

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25

50

75

100

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

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Student attendance rates

School Region State DEC

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2013, with a view to providing clear and consistent procedures.

The focus areas for 2013 included the following:

improving student attendance

reducing partial attendance (lateness)

reducing truancy

To address these priorities, the Head Teacher – Administration (Students) implemented a number of strategies.

1. Improving student attendance: Student attendance at Glenwood High School has risen with 93.1% of students attending each day on average. Sixty three students were congratulated on achieving perfect attendance in 2013. This is due to students learning in a supportive environment where their needs are met. The following procedures were implemented for students who had attendance that fell below 90%:

Parents were contacted by mail and telephone to assist them in reengaging their child in learning.

Students were interviewed and connected to assistance and information.

Additional processes for justifying absences were created. Parents were able to reply to the SMS text message parents receive for student absences. Parents were also able to supply a letter from home to justify an absence. In addition, a number of parents downloaded the Glenwood High School iPhone and Android application and used the notification system to justify absences.

2. Reducing partial attendance (lateness): Student lateness improved in 2013 with less than one percent of the school population arriving late without a note each day. When a student is late, they present at the front office with their school card, which is scanned. If the student has not brought a note from home, they are issued with a ‘school service slip’. This requires the student to assist in beautifying the playground for ten minutes at recess. Parents also receive an SMS text message if their child has arrived late.

3. Reducing truancy: Students referred to the Head Teacher – Administration (Students) were interviewed with a personalised approach of working with at risk students through individual assistance. In 2013, sixty five attendance cards

were issued and students were monitored carefully by their teachers, parents and the Head Teacher – Administration (Students) to ensure improvement in their classroom attendance. This system incorporated knowledge and information from the Accidental Counsellor course.

Post-School Destinations

All 210 students who sat for the HSC in 2013 were successful in achieving an HSC qualification. Out of these students, a representative data sample was collected to identify ATAR results and the direction students decided to take in 2014.

Over 50 students represented in the sample achieved an ATAR over 70. In addition, 20 students achieved an ATAR between 80 and 90 and 20 students achieved an ATAR greater than 90. One student achieved an exceptional result of 99.70. The following table demonstrates the direction that Year 12 students from 2013 planned to take in 2014.

Students have decided to enter into a variety of post-school opportunities. A few students have signed up for full time apprenticeships, full time work, entry into the Australian Defence Force or taking on further study at TAFE, colleges and universities.

0 20 40 60 80

College

University

TAFE

GAP

Apprenticeship

Work

Unsure

Army

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Students have taken up further study at a variety of colleges such as JMC Academy, University of Western Sydney College, Macleay College, William Blue College of Hospitality Management and the Academy of Information Technology.

The majority of students from the data collected have enrolled into further study at an Australian university. Students received the highest amount of offers from Macquarie University, followed by the University of Western Sydney. A number of students also received offers from the University of New South Wales, University of Sydney, University of Technology, Sydney, the Australian Catholic University and the University of Notre Dame.

Work Experience

In 2013, over one hundred and fifty Year 10 students completed work experience. Students had the opportunity to experience a vast array of roles and gain a sense of what it is like to work. This has been a valuable experience for the students for many different reasons. From the student career perspective, many confirmed the pathways they selected and are now reassured that this is the path they want to follow, while others have reevaluated their direction based on their placement. The opportunity to work five consecutive days was an interesting experience for our students. On a positive note, students reported that it was great, they enjoyed the experience, they loved the tasks that they were given and their confidence grew.

Another fantastic outcome from work experience was the number of casual job offers students gained. We have a possibility of two apprenticeships commencing in 2014 and two offers for students to return to their employer at the end of Year 12 to commence an apprenticeship.

Year 12 Students Undertaking Vocational or Trade Training

We had thirty three students in Year 12 (or 15%) successfully complete a TAFE credit or qualification. The areas included Animal Studies, Automotive, Baking, Beauty Therapy, Business Services, Children’s Services, Construction, Electronics, Entertainment, Financial Services, Health Services Assistance, Metals and Engineering, Music and Performance, Plumbing, Theatre and Screen and Tourism.

Year 12 Students Attaining HSC or Equivalent Vocational Education Qualification

We had eleven students in Year 12 (or 5%) accepted into school-based traineeships. The traineeships were in Retail, Community Activities, Child Care and Sports and Recreation. Our Child Care trainee attained the First State Training Award in the Regional School Based Traineeship and then went on to become a finalist in the NSW Training Awards.

In 2013, the school’s retention rate exceeded both the SEG average and state average. This is the first time that the school’s retention rate has exceeded the SEG average.

Workforce Information

It is a requirement that the reporting of information for all staff must be consistent with privacy and personal information policies.

Glenwood High School has a very large teaching staff that is divided into the main faculties of English, Mathematics, Science, HSIE, PD/H/PE, Creative and Performing Arts, LOTE, Industrial

Retention to Year 12

School 68.5 72.7 71.1 67.1 78.1

SEG 74.9 76.1 77.5 72.9 75.8

State 61.0 62.7 64.7 63.4 64.5

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HSC11

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HSC13

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Arts, Home Economics, Library, Computing Studies and Support. The school’s growing enrolments saw an expansion of the executive team in 2013 with an additional Head Teacher – Secondary Studies allocated to the school. It is expected that staff numbers will not increase in the future as student enrolments have now stabilised.

Workforce composition

Position Number

Principal 1

Deputy Principal(s) 3

Head Teachers 16

Classroom Teacher(s) 85.7

Learning and Support Teacher(s) 1.6

Teacher Librarian 1.4

Teacher of ESL 1.2

School Counsellor 1.0

Careers Adviser 1.2

School Administrative & Support Staff 20.172

TOTAL 132.272

The Australian Education Regulation (2013) requires schools to report on Aboriginal composition of their workforce. There were no members of the teaching staff that identified as Indigenous in 2013.

Teacher qualifications

All teaching staff meet the professional requirements for teaching in NSW public schools. In addition, a large number of teachers at Glenwood High School have postgraduate qualifications.

Qualifications % of staff

Degree or Diploma 100%

Postgraduate 20%

NSW Institute of Teachers Accreditation 44%

Financial summary

This summary covers funds for operating costs and does not involve expenditure areas such as permanent salaries, building and major maintenance.

Date of financial summary 30/11/2013

Income $

Balance brought forward 1,021,074.17 Global funds 670,723.66 Tied funds 350,921.64 School & community sources 746,690.31 Interest 33,167.36 Trust receipts 78,785.60 Canteen 0.00 Total income 2901362.74

Expenditure

Teaching & learning Key learning areas 301,627.89 Excursions 138,058.70 Extracurricular dissections 247,582.80

Library 25,422.85 Training & development 4,613.24 Tied funds 335,762.64 Casual relief teachers 206,585.87 Administration & office 261,400.24 School-operated canteen 0.00 Utilities 117,820.22 Maintenance 17,469.94 Trust accounts 79,849.70 Capital programs 43,765.00 Total expenditure 1779959.09

Balance carried forward 1121403.65

A full copy of the school’s 2013 financial statement is tabled at the annual general meeting of the Parents and Citizens Association. Further details concerning this statement can be obtained by contacting the school.

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a School Performance in 2013

Academic Achievements

NAPLAN

In the National Assessment Program, results across the Year 3, Year 5, Year 7 and Year 9 literacy and numeracy assessments are reported on a scale from Band 1 to Band 10.

The achievement scale represents increasing levels of skills and understanding demonstrated in these assessments.

Year 3: from Band 1 (lowest) to Band 6 (highest for Year 3)




The My School website provides detailed information and data for national literacy and numeracy testing (NAPLAN). The website can be accessed at www.myschool.edu.au.

NAPLAN Year 7 - Literacy

Year 7 NAPLAN Reading

4 5 6 7 8 9

6 35 72 70 60 16

2.3 13.5 27.8 27.0 23.2 6.2

3.0 14.1 27.4 28.0 20.7 6.9

2.5 10.2 24.5 28.1 24.5 10.3

6.6 17.8 25.9 22.5 17.0 10.2

Average score, 2013

Skill Band Distribution

Number in Band

Percentage in Bands

School Average 2009-2013

SSG % in Band 2013

State DEC % in Band 2013

Band

552.9

SSG

543.4 534.0

School State DEC

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Percentage in Bands


SSG % in Band 2013


Year 7 NAPLAN Spelling

4 5 6 7 8 9

8 13 45 77 78 39

3.1 5.0 17.3 29.6 30.0 15.0

3.1 6.6 19.9 27.7 28.3 14.4

3.2 6.1 18.0 32.5 28.7 11.5

7.4 9.9 20.2 28.1 21.5 12.8

State DEC

Average score, 2013 573.4 565.8 551.9

School SSG



SSG % in Band 2013


Band

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Percentage in Bands


SSG % in Band 2013


http://www.myschool.edu.au/

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Student performance in NAPLAN tests reflect the attainment levels achieved in primary school learning. The results provide secondary teachers with valuable diagnostic information about each student in Year 7 and establish baseline data to determine the value that Glenwood High School has added to that student by the time they reach Year 9. Our school group is indicated in pink in these charts. Literacy is comprised of four elements: reading, writing, spelling, and grammar and punctuation. Overall, Glenwood High School performed well in all four aspects of the literacy tests.

Year 7 NAPLAN results were pleasing in 2013. In all aspects of literacy, a substantial number of students were placed in the top two bands:

30% per cent in reading

15% per cent in writing

38% per cent in grammar and punctuation

45% per cent in spelling

Spelling continues to be an area of strength at Glenwood High School. Moving more students from the middle two bands of achievement into the top two bands has been an area of focus for 2013. We are pleased to note that through effective curriculum delivery and a whole-school focus on literacy, we have seen positive growth in the number of students achieving results in the higher bands in all four areas. Moving the middle will remain an area of focus throughout 2014. There is a particular need to concentrate on

Year 7 NAPLAN Grammar and Punctuation


4 5 6 7 8 9

12 36 64 49 61 38

4.6 13.8 24.6 18.8 23.5 14.6

5.3 11.5 27.8 25.3 17.2 13.0

6.7 10.9 19.3 25.5 23.1 14.5

13.8 15.7 20.0 20.3 16.7 13.4

SSG State DECSchool

SSG % in Band 2013

Percentage in Bands

Number in Band

Average score, 2013 549.7 550.6 529.7

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Percentage in bands: Year 7 Grammar & Punctuation

Percentage in Bands


SSG % in Band 2013


Year 7 NAPLAN Writing


4 5 6 7 8 9

12 63 87 60 27 11

4.6 24.2 33.5 23.1 10.4 4.2

3.4 21.5 32.8 24.4 12.4 5.4

5.7 19.5 29.5 26.0 14.7 4.6

12.4 25.3 27.4 18.5 11.5 4.9

Average score, 2013 502.1

State DECSSG

522.2

School

517.3


SSG % in Band 2013

Percentage in Bands

Number in Band

Band


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Percentage in bands: Year 7 Writing

Percentage in BandsSchool Average 2011-2013SSG % in Band 2013State DEC % in Band 2013

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aspects of both imaginative and persuasive writing and on interpreting inferential meaning in reading material.

NAPLAN Year 7 - Numeracy

In total, 11.5% of Year 7 students achieved in the top band in numeracy, while a further 21.5% gained a Band 8 result (the second highest band). In total, 52.4% of Year 7 students achieved satisfactory results in the middle two bands, while 14.6% of Year 7 students scored in the lower two bands. The future focus is on moving students up to the next band, by concentrating on developing the ability of students to interpret questions and select the most appropriate answer.

NAPLAN Year 9 – Literacy

Year 7 NAPLAN Numeracy

4 5 6 7 8 9

1 37 68 68 56 30

0.4 14.2 26.2 26.2 21.5 11.5

2.3 14.6 26.7 25.7 18.7 12.1

1.3 11.6 24.3 28.5 21.3 13.0

4.0 20.6 26.6 21.8 13.2 13.9

School State DECSSG

Band

Number in Band

555.3 540.9553.4


Average score, 2013

Percentage in Bands


SSG % in Band 2013


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Percentage in bands: Year 7 Numeracy

Percentage in BandsSchool Average 2009-2013SSG % in Band 2013State DEC % in Band 2013

Year 9 NAPLAN Reading

5 6 7 8 9 10

6 47 86 71 36 7

2.4 18.6 34.0 28.1 14.2 2.8

4.2 17.9 30.6 27.9 15.2 4.1

2.6 13.1 27.0 31.0 21.2 5.1

6.9 21.2 27.4 23.5 15.9 5.1

579.5Average score, 2013

State DECSSG

574.8593.5

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SSG % in Band 2013

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Year 9 NAPLAN Spelling

5 6 7 8 9 10

6 27 66 92 43 21

2.4 10.6 25.9 36.1 16.9 8.2

3.4 9.9 23.0 30.3 24.1 9.3

3.6 8.7 27.4 34.9 16.7 8.7

8.3 13.1 27.6 28.6 13.0 9.4

Average score, 2013 598.0

SSGSchool State DEC

600.2

Band

584.0



Number in Band

Percentage in Bands


SSG % in Band 2013

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Percentage in Bands


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Year 9 NAPLAN Grammar and Punctuation


5 6 7 8 9 10

25 40 79 62 30 19

9.8 15.7 31.0 24.3 11.8 7.5

7.0 16.2 27.4 28.7 13.5 7.2

6.9 11.9 29.7 27.5 14.3 9.6

15.4 17.0 29.1 19.4 10.1 9.0

Percentage in Bands


SSG % in Band 2013


590.7

State DEC

565.8

SSG

Average score, 2013

Band

School

577.2

Number in Band

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Percentage in Bands


SSG % in Band 2013


Year 9 NAPLAN Writing


5 6 7 8 9 10

46 48 61 54 34 11

18.1 18.9 24.0 21.3 13.4 4.3

13.4 17.9 24.2 26.0 10.7 7.8

12.3 18.9 25.7 26.6 10.2 6.4

24.9 21.7 20.6 18.7 8.1 6.1

553.5 562.7 534.2

State DECSSGSchool

Band

Average score, 2013


Number in Band

Percentage in Bands

SSG % in Band 2013


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Percentage in Bands


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Year 9 students showed significant value-added results when compared with their achievements in Year 7. Spelling was again an area of high achievement for students at Glenwood High School, with twenty five per cent achieving in the top two bands. Twenty per cent of students also achieved in the top two bands for grammar and punctuation, and for writing. The focus on structured reading programs for this cohort across all KLAs, in Year 8 and Year 9, has contributed to very positive reading results, with seventeen per cent of students achieving in the top two bands and an additional sixty-two per cent of students achieving in the middle two bands.

Particularly pleasing is the positive growth we have seen in the grammar and punctuation results for the Year 9 cohort. During Connect in 2013, Year 9 students were involved in an engaging and enriching program which was a key element of a whole-school initiative to develop the literacy skills of our students across all KLAs. The literacy team developed this program to support the learning of our students through the facilitation of concentrated literacy lessons. The focus of these ten-minute lessons was to target areas for improvement across Year 9, as determined by previous NAPLAN results and school-based assessment. This has contributed to very few students scoring in the lowest two bands in 2013 and forty-four per cent of students achieving in the top three bands, including nineteen students scoring a top Band 10 result in this testing area. This successful program will be administered again in 2014.

An ongoing emphasis on persuasive writing techniques and the structure of exposition texts throughout 2012 and 2013 has also contributed to the pleasing result of forty per cent of students achieving in the top three bands for writing. However, the school performed better in this area in 2011 and 2012. Importantly, in 2014,

students participating in NAPLAN could be asked to write either a persuasive text (an exposition) or a text for entertainment (a narrative). A reinvigorated program to develop writing skills has been implemented in order to refine specific areas, such as effective paragraphing and incorporating heightened vocabulary, across all KLAs. Additionally, students will engage in a writing unit, through their English classes, to reinforce the stylistic and structural features of both types of texts.

NAPLAN Year 9 - Numeracy

In total, 24.2% of Year 9 students achieved in the top two bands for numeracy. Also, 50.0% of students achieved in the middle two bands, significantly higher than the state average. In total, 25.4% of Year 9 students achieved in the lower two bands, an area to improve. The future focus will be on encouraging students to concentrate on avoiding unnecessary errors.

Year 9 NAPLAN Numeracy

5 6 7 8 9 10

16 49 61 65 31 30

6.3 19.4 24.2 25.8 12.3 11.9

3.4 17.6 26.7 27.0 15.2 10.2

4.6 14.9 25.5 23.3 16.6 15.1

11.0 21.3 25.0 17.3 10.4 15.1

School SSG State DEC


584.4Average score, 2013 587.6 601.4


Band

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SSG % in Band 2013

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Percentage in Bands


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Minimum Standards

In 2013, the vast majority of Year 7 students at Glenwood High School achieved at or above the minimum standard. This was particularly strong in numeracy, with 99.6% of students achieving at or above the minimum standard in this strand.

Percentage of Year 7 students achieving at or above minimum standard (exempt students

excluded)

Reading 97.7

Writing 95.4

Spelling 96.9

Grammar & Punctuation 95.4

Numeracy 99.6

Similarly, in 2013, the vast majority of Year 9 students at Glenwood High School achieved at or above the minimum standard. However, there is a need for a renewed focus on writing for Year 9 students, with only 81.9% of students achieving at or above the minimum standard in this strand.

Percentage of Year 9 students achieving at or above minimum standard (exempt students

excluded)

Reading 97.6

Writing 81.9

Spelling 97.6

Grammar & Punctuation 90.2

Numeracy 93.7

Each year, some students are exempt from NAPLAN tests, for a variety of reasons:

As an indication, the no. of students exempt for Year 7 Reading are:

4

As an indication, the no. of students exempt for Year 9 Reading are:

8

Higher School Certificate (HSC)

In the Higher School Certificate, the performance of students is reported in performance bands ranging from Band 1 (lowest) to Band 6 (highest). The following are examples of the school’s successful performance in the HSC:

Twenty students achieved an ATAR of over 90.00, based on strong HSC results.

There were sixty one Band 6 results across the variety of courses offered at Glenwood High School.

Two students were placed on the Premier’s Honour Roll for achieving Band 6 results in all of their courses.

One student was ranked 7th in NSW for Physics.

Four students were nominated for Callback, a showcase for exemplary performances in Dance.

One student had their major work in Design and Technology showcased in DesignTECH and exhibited at the Powerhouse Museum.

Exceptional results were achieved in Mathematics, Mathematics Extension 2, English Extension 1, English Extension 2, English as a Second Language, Dance, Economics, Earth and Environmental Science, Community and Family Studies, Business Studies, Information Processes and Technology, Information Technology and Physics.

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The following table compares the HSC results at Glenwood High School with the school’s own averages from 2009-2013, statistically similar schools and the state average in DEC schools:

HSC: Course Summary Table

Course

Sch

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Sch

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20

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SSG

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Ancient History

67.9 68.4 72.7 69.3

Biology 70.1 71.3 74.3 72.8

Business Studies

75.0 73.8 73.2 71.2

Chemistry 68.4 72.1 72.9 75.4

Community and Family

Studies 75.3 73.0 75.5 71.9

Design and Technology

69.8 70.0 73.7 73.3

Earth and Environmental

Science 75.8 76.9 76.9 73.3

Economics 74.6 69.9 67.9 73.8

Engineering Studies

66.9 73.2 72.8 73.5

English (Standard)

64.6 66.1 67.3 63.8

English (Advanced)

78.1 77.8 79.2 78.5

Food Technology

70.2 68.8 73.0 68.9

Industrial Technology

67.6 66.5 74.9 69.9

Information Processes

and Technology

74.6 72.2 76.0 72.6

Legal Studies 73.7 74.4 75.9 72.8

General Mathematics

66.8 68.7 69.5 64.0

Mathematics 78.0 74.5 76.1 76.3

Mathematics Extension 1

80.1 81.8 77.2 81.4

Modern History

69.5 71.6 76.7 73.5

Music 1 72.7 78.4 82.7 78.7

PD/H/PE 67.0 69.3 72.7 68.8

Physics 72.2 71.5 70.5 73.3

Software Design and

Development 71.2 71.0 73.0 72.9

Visual Arts 76.8 78.1 80.3 77.5

French Beginners

71.4 66.3 n/a 75.2

French Continuers

67.4 67.2 n/a 81.1

Hospitality Examination

75.4 73.9 77.2 74.0

Information Technology Examination

75.8 75.0 n/a 71.0

The information provided in the above table is represented in the following graphs.

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Value-Added Results

Value-added results for 2013 were determined by comparing the performance of Year 10 students in 2011 with the performance of the same cohort as Year 12 students in 2013.

The above table indicates that in 2013, Glenwood High School was successful in contributing to value-added results for students placed in high performance bands, well in excess of the averages for statistically similar schools (and the school’s own average from 2009-2013). Focus areas for 2014 are to provide value-added results for students placed in low and middle performance bands.

Record of School Achievement (RoSA)

Year 10 in 2013 was the second group to experience the new RoSA system for those students leaving school after the completion of Year 10 and before the completion of Year 12. Traditionally, almost all students at Glenwood High School progress from Year 10 to Year 11 and only then do some students accept apprenticeships, apply for TAFE and other education or commence full time employment. The school expects to see students from the Year 10 cohort in 2013 apply for and receive their RoSA at various points over the next two years in 2014 and 2015.

The following table provides information on the grades awarded to Year 10 students by Glenwood High School for mandatory Stage 5 courses.

A B C D E

English 8% 13% 64% 14% 0%

Mathematics 13% 28% 25% 29% 3%

Science 7% 18% 39% 27% 7%

Australian History

12% 22% 31% 25% 9%

Australian Geography

8% 23% 33% 28% 8%

PD/H/PE 10% 47% 33% 6% 3%

In addition, grades were awarded to Year 11 students in 2013 for the first time as a part of the new arrangements for the RoSA. This provided an opportunity for a number of faculties to engage in professional dialogue and reflection in relation to the collection of student work samples to ensure consistent teacher judgement. In accordance with requirements of the NSW Board of Studies, Teaching and Educational Standards, the school now retains student work samples in a number of Year 10 and Year 11 courses.

Significant Programs and Initiatives

A number of important programs and initiatives operate at Glenwood High School each year.

HSC: Relative performance from Year 10 (value-added)

Performance Band Low Middle High

School 2013 -0.2 0.5 1.7

School Average 2009-2013 1.0 1.7 1.1

SSG Average 2013 1.6 1.5 0.0

Note: By definition, the State average relative performance is zero

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Aboriginal Education

Glenwood High School utilises the skills of an Aboriginal Education Adviser. This staff member increased support for Aboriginal students throughout the year. In 2013, the school established an Aboriginal education team, consisting of executive staff, teaching staff and our Aboriginal Education Adviser. Our team-based approach to Aboriginal education has led to a number of new initiatives to help our Aboriginal students reach their full potential.

In 2013, two students were involved in the School to Work program, which is an opportunity to find out what support is available once students leave school, whether they go straight to work or opt for further study.

Students were also involved in a variety of excursions, including visiting NSW Parliament House and meeting Aboriginal leaders, seeing a contemporary play by an Aboriginal author and meeting Aboriginal artists in our local area. For the first time, Glenwood High School applied for and was successful in receiving funding through the DEC’s Norta Norta program, which supports students in Year 11 and Year 12 through additional tuition.

In addition, with the assistance of the school executive, Glenwood High School committed to regular meetings of our Aboriginal students during Connect time to share information, understand more about our local area and learn about each other.

Multicultural Education

In 2013, Glenwood High School continued to participate in the Rethinking Multiculturalism: Reassessing Multicultural Education (RMRME) project. The focus continued to be on enhancing intercultural understanding amongst our

culturally diverse student cohort. Throughout Term 2, Year 7 and Year 8 participated in lessons during Connect aimed at allowing them to understand, respect and communicate with other cultures in the school community. A survey of participating students and teachers was conducted at the end to analyse the impact of the lessons on students and to identify the direction the program should take in the future. Students and teachers generally found the lessons helpful in enabling students to increase their intercultural understanding. The school looks forward to maintaining and enhancing the RMRME project in 2014.

In addition to the RMRME project, the school’s Anti-Racism Contact Officer (ARCO) facilitated increased awareness and recognition of racism and its consequences. An ARCO register was used to allow for monitoring and effective action in relation to incidents. Counselling for students was provided and students were positive about the outcomes obtained.

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English as a Second Language

The aim of the ESL program at Glenwood High School is to recognise the specific English learning needs of our culturally diverse student population. Initial assessment of ESL students is undertaken in Term 1 and their progress is tracked throughout the year. A final assessment of their achievements and future requirements is conducted in Term 4. We have two experienced and dedicated ESL teachers who provide classroom support including resources, programs, assessments and targeted teaching and learning strategies for our ESL learners.

The 2013 Annual ESL Survey revealed that 51% of our student population (766 students) have a Language Background Other Than English (LBOTE). In addition, 21.5 % (165 students) of our LBOTE students receive targeted ESL support. Our ESL student population is expected to remain at this level in 2014. The breakdown of the phases of our ESL students is shown in the table below.

Phase Number of Students

Phase 1 2

Phase 2 10

Phase 3 153

The following considerations were taken into account when organising the ESL program for 2013:

the range of ESL needs in the student population

the number of Phase 1 and Phase 2 students

the need to cater for flexibility in the ESL program

assessment of the needs of ESL students across the curriculum

The ESL program at Glenwood High School values and acknowledges the prior learning, cultural knowledge and linguistic skills brought to the classroom by ESL students.

Respect and Responsibility

Glenwood High School promotes a respectful learning environment and the development of a sense of social responsibility and citizenship among the students. Equity and social justice

principles underpin the school’s student welfare policy and code of behavior. Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL) processes and systems underpin the ideas of respect, responsibility and readiness that inform the discipline process. Special focus days such as ANZAC Day and Harmony Day give the school community an opportunity to stop and reflect on the need for respectful relationships and responsible citizenship.

The Student Representative Council, prefect body, student mentoring and volunteer programs, mediation training, Duke of Edinburgh Award and MATES programs all promote wider citizenship through voluntary work and support for charitable causes. Students assisted with reading programs, participated in blood donation drives, the 40 Hour Famine and bushfire appeals in addition to drug education and anti-bullying programs.

Harmony Day, NAIDOC Week and [Dis]ability Week celebrations were the most inclusive and engaging expressions of respect and responsibility.

Wear It Purple Day reinforced the idea that negative comments towards same-sex attracted people are inappropriate. Students were reminded of the need to be inclusive of all. Hundreds of students and staff members signed a pledge in support of inclusivity for all.

Connect time continues to be used at Glenwood High School to focus on the values and behaviours we want see in our learning community. It provides teachers with the opportunity to teach our PBL expectations. We facilitate this understanding through observable examples of expected behaviours. Each week’s assembly introduces the focus value of the week

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and Connect time during the week reinforces the value.

These expectations have been further reinforced through a trial of Tier 2 PBL interventions and supports in the form of ‘Check In / Check Out’.

We continue to acknowledge and celebrate all demonstrated instances of respect and responsibility through publication in local media, rewards at weekly assemblies, special morning teas, sunshine letters and parties and other fun festivities.

Student Welfare

The welfare team at Glenwood High School aims to provide effective learning with a safe and supportive environment. The team consists of the Year Advisers, Assistant Year Advisers, Head Teacher – Welfare, Counsellors and Deputy Principals, who work closely with colleagues, parents and caregivers and external agencies to ensure the academic and emotional welfare of each student.

Members of each grade’s team meet fortnightly to undertake case-management and review supports in place for individual and small groups of students. Such supports include access to the Learning Centre and Homework Centre, youth worker support, Aboriginal tutorial support and Rock and Water. The entire team meets twice a term to plan and review supports for whole school and year-based groups of students. Examples of these are cybersafety awareness, regular year assemblies, Crossroads, work experience events, Chick Chat and Man Day.

Representatives from the welfare team attended numerous courses such as the Accidental Counsellor, Crossroads training and Tier 2 PBL intervention workshops and in-serviced other staff members at the annual welfare conference. Whole school updates on anaphylaxis and the sharing of medical information to ensure student

safety was undertaken on a regular basis. Across all year groups, various programs were successfully implemented including anti-bullying and harassment programs, presentations by the Police Youth Liaison Officer, Strength and Shine workshops and girls resilience programs.

The welfare team worked with colleagues to train senior students in the MATES and Stress Buster programs to assist Year 7 students in increasing their resilience and coping skills. These workshops consisted of how to be able to effectively deal with different social situations, respecting others and also how to interact with different peers in positive ways. Our senior students offered another layer of transition support, empowering Year 7 students to look after themselves. The conversations included how to tell if you are okay, how to describe anxiety and stress, strategies for dealing with stress and anxiety and a checklist for getting help.

Rock and Water was reintroduced at Glenwood High School in 2013. It operated among three select groups to improve personal and social skills. It empowered students to make positive decisions in their lives. The program is based around physical activities, combining skills of various martial arts with a strong emphasis on spiritual awareness to improve quality of life.

The students selected learned various skills, depending on their needs. The program was successful, providing a fun, safe environment, where students could freely discuss conflict, how they deal with it and how they could have managed issues in a more appropriate manner.

The program will be ongoing in 2014 and its success will be continually monitored and

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evaluated. Those who participated have been a pleasure to work with and the positive connections they made have given them a solid support structure for the future.

The school also utilised the expertise of outside agencies to run successful programs such as Your Dream seminars. The school also implemented a school-based vaccination program in conjunction with Sydney West Health.

The school’s student wellbeing team aimed to provide students and staff with an understanding of issues related to harassment and bullying. Students of the team raised awareness of wellbeing issues through the R U OK? Day. Senior students on the team undertook training as peer mediators and assisted with resolving issues of conflict among Year 7 and Year 8 students. Team members also acted as buddies through the school year and supported the transition of new students. This specific team was disbanded at the end of the year and will reemerge as a part of the school’s student leadership team in 2014.

Gifted and Talented Education

The students of Glenwood High School continued to be supported through targeted gifted and talented initiatives in 2013. In order to nurture the wide range of abilities of our student cohort, the gifted and talented education team aimed to provide a range of opportunities, both in the traditional learning environment of the classroom and extracurricular activities. Targeted students and groups in the classroom setting explored alternate and extension tasks which aimed to challenge their learning, while extracurricular activities built upon the talent students have displayed through engagement with their coursework.

Our participation in the Gifted and Talented Education Conference ensured that Glenwood High School remained at the forefront of contemporary pedagogical practice, developed through thorough research and implementation in school. Our collaboration with leaders in the gifted and talented community continued with professional development, undertaken by the school executive, in order to build upon the experiences of other schools in providing opportunities to their gifted and talented students.

Registration for places in the 2014 gifted and talented Year 7 classes continued to be popular, with seventy eight students applying for these positions. Of these, twenty nine were successful in their application and will be engaging in an extension program in 2014. The model employed for selection in these classes will be revised, in order to allow for a more accurate and efficient identification of gifted and talented students and a clear indication of their ability to aid in the development of appropriate learning experiences.

Our students continued to produce pleasing results through their involvement in competitions focusing on the areas of Mathematics and Science. Approximately 40% of our students who participated in the International Competitions and Assessments for Schools (ICAS) Mathematics Competition achieved a credit or higher result. Similarly, the ability of our students was clearly evident in Science, with an impressive number of students achieving pleasing results in the ICAS Science Competition.

Glenwood High School hosted the annual Western Sydney Debating Workshops, from which many of our students successfully progressed to the NSW Premier’s Debating Challenge. An interclass debating competition allowed our students to hone their skills and ultimately pit themselves against their colleagues in other classes, developing their public speaking, research and analytical skills.

This was the first year in which we assembled two teams of students to participate in the NSW History Teachers’ Association History Mastermind Gifted and Talented Trivia Day. The enthusiasm with which our students prepared and participated resulted in Glenwood High School students being awarded fourth and sixth places, from an overall twenty nine teams from sixteen

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schools. This was an ideal opportunity to promote history, as well as civics and citizenship, in our student body.

As an annual tradition that aims to celebrate giftedness in a range of learning areas, Glenwood High School’s GR8 GATsby saw forty five primary students from Caddies Creek Public School, John Palmer Public School, Kellyville Ridge Public School and Parklea Public School and twenty five students from Glenwood High School, engaging in a range of educational challenges. Ultimately, all participating students benefited from collaborating in teams, with the students from our feeder schools working closely with current junior students from our school.

With the Australian Curriculum to be delivered in NSW in 2014 in the key learning areas of Mathematics, Science, English and History, a team of teachers saw this as an ideal opportunity to launch an integrated curriculum project. This will see students in Year 7 complete a unit of work which spans a range of learning areas. Through providing this opportunity, we aim to have students engaged in a relevant, yet challenging activity, which prepares them for the high school environment.

Glenwood High School is an educational institution which maintains high expectations for learning, providing a supportive environment in which students have every opportunity to excel. The gifted and talented education team has aimed to provide relevant and engaging learning opportunities to students, while supporting activities which identify and celebrate ability in a wide range of learning areas. Moving forwards, the team aims to further assist our teachers in developing their skills to support our gifted and talented students.

A

Sport

2013 has been a highly successful year in the sporting area for Glenwood High School and our students. All staff and students involved in sport showed pride in their achievements and participation.

School sport is a crucial lever in empowering young people towards a healthy and active lifestyle. Sport develops the motor skills of learners, promotes teamwork and enhances leadership skills. All students who have represented Glenwood High School this year have demonstrated all of these skills in an exemplary manner.

This year we saw a record number of competitors at our school swimming and cross country carnivals, which was pleasing, considering that these events are open to competitors only.

The grade sport competition was strengthened this year with an increased number of teams. Glenwood High School was the strongest school as it provided teams for every sport and won the majority of games each week. In 2014, Year 7 will be included in our grade sport competition.

Glenwood High School also provides students with opportunities to participate in team sports, through the Macquarie Cup for basketball, soccer, touch football, rugby league and netball. We have seen many students selected to participate at a higher level. 2013 has been the most successful year we have seen at Glenwood High School for individuals being chosen for sporting teams.

Our football teams have once again excelled in the Sydney West knockout competitions. The girls open team won the Sydney West competition for the third year in a row and continued on to the CHS competition where they made it to the final eight in the state. This is by far the best achievement by any Glenwood High School team. The boys continued to excel at futsal with the under 16s team also making it to the final eight in the state. This futsal competition is open to all schools and the amount of talent seen at these competitions is outstanding.

The school recognises the contribution of parents in supporting their children and their sporting endeavours. In addition, the school recognises the PD/H/PE Faculty for their hard work in maximising sporting opportunities in 2013.

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Duke of Edinburgh

2013 saw the Duke of Edinburgh program at Glenwood High School expand by more than thirty students. This shows the value that many of our students place on their personal development through the award. This year also saw the introduction of an induction program for new students, designed to teach them basic camping skills and the requirements of the award. Students learned how to set up a tent and the basics of bush cooking. The school conducted three expeditions this year, including its first cycling expedition in several years. Students visited the glow worm tunnels and ruins at Newnes, explored the caves at Wombeyan and braved Kanangra-Boyd National Park during winter.

Students have continued to assist throughout the community in a variety of volunteering roles and the contribution of the program to academic activities is encouraging. In 2013, the greatest initiative was using sport time for Duke of Edinburgh activities, which saw students creating and maintaining gardens throughout the school. Thanks to the support of Mr Neville Shields, the Duke of Edinburgh students created a decorative garden at the school’s main entrance and an ANZAC memorial garden under our flags at the front of the school. The school looks forward to another successful year for the Duke of Edinburgh program in 2014.

Students with Additional Learning Needs

In 2013, Glenwood High School strengthened the role of the Learning Support Team in overseeing support for students identified as needing extra assistance. The school employed four School Learning Support Officers (SLSO). One SLSO was

allocated to the Learning Centre to support our Learning and Support Teacher, ensuring students were able to receive assistance for assessment tasks and access special provisions for examinations. One SLSO was employed to work with Year 7 and Year 8, moving between classes as needed to ensure all our Stage 4 students were supported and received help when needed. One SLSO was allocated to our at risk Stage 6 students to encourage engagement and attendance. The other SLSO was allocated to specific students with high support needs. At risk students in Stage 6 all moved to work or apprenticeships. Students receiving support were able to meet course requirements and complete set tasks.

The Learning Centre is situated in the Library and is open most days including during recess and lunch. It is staffed by two Learning and Support Teachers and a SLSO. Students are referred to the Learning Centre by teachers, parents or the Learning Support Team. Frequently, students refer themselves when they feel that they need help. Sometimes, Learning Centre teachers provide support in classrooms. At other times, students are withdrawn from class for individual or small group instruction.

During 2013, Learning Centre staff worked in classes in English, Mathematics, Science and LOTE. In addition, a total of 364 students (or 17.5% of students at Glenwood High School) attended the Learning Centre. The majority attended on more than one occasion and requested help with either English or Mathematics.

Assistance is provided in a variety of specific ways including repetitive practice of key skills, reduction of complex tasks or concepts to a number of small steps, provision of a scaffold so that work may be completed independently and help with personal organisation. The focus may be on the completion or revision of classwork, assignments or preparation for examinations. All help provided for students is aimed at them achieving the capacity to work independently. The Learning Centre endeavours to make all learning interventions as specific as possible to the needs of each particular student. To this end, the Learning Centre designed a grid to help teachers focus on optimal approaches for individual students.

Regular specific classroom support was provided for students with disability funding by three

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integration SLSOs. This provision is organised primarily by the Head Teacher – Support. The Learning Centre is involved in providing help with assignments and special provisions for examinations for these students.

The organisation of disability provisions for students with additional needs during examination periods is an important function of the Learning Centre. Provisions allowed include separate supervision, the use of a reader and/or writer, rest breaks and additional time. Disability provisions for the Higher School Certificate are approved by the Board of Studies, Teaching and Educational Standards. In 2013, the school successfully applied for HSC disability provisions for thirteen Year 12 students. For Year 7 and Year 9, disability provisions were obtained for eight students sitting for the NAPLAN tests. Across other grades, provisions were organised in collaboration with teachers for assessment tasks and formal examinations.

The Learning Centre collaborated with school staff and Quakers Hill Youth Support Services in running an afterschool homework centre. With the assistance from Quakers Hill Youth Support Services and a number of teachers at Glenwood High School, students were able to receive help with assignments and examination preparation. Feedback on the homework centre was overwhelmingly positive. Teaching resources were often stretched to capacity. Participating students were surveyed at the end of the year. Around 70% indicated that they came for help with Mathematics or English. All students reported that they thought their marks improved as a result of their attendance at the centre.

The peer reading Connect class operated again in 2013. Ten Year 10 students, trained in ‘pause, prompt and praise’ techniques and in recognising basic reading problems, were each assigned a Year 7 student who read to them throughout the year during Connect time. The Year 7 students were tested at the beginning, middle and end of the year. All students showed a marked improvement in reading fluency and comprehension, with most advancing two or three years in reading age between the beginning and the end of the year.

Another initiative to come out of the Learning Centre this year was the Handyman Project. Ms Madeleine Lewis, one of the Learning and Support Teachers, wrote a submission for a grant

under the DEC Every Student, Every School initiative which resulted in Glenwood High School receiving $20,000. This will be used to fund a program in 2014 for Year 9 and Year 10 boys who may be interested in a trade. They will undergo training in practical skills related to carpentry, paving, bricklaying and running a small business. All students involved in the program will complete the white card qualification, which is a mandatory requirement for entry onto any construction site.

Support Unit

The Support Faculty provides for the needs of students in the Support Unit. In terms of the composition of classes, it was decided to have a discrete Year 10 class for students on mainstream outcomes to ensure these students had every opportunity to succeed. There was also a discrete Year 7 class, a discrete Year 9 class and a combined class of Year 8 to Year 12 students. The Year 7 and Year 9 classes were very successful and all students improved in their skills. All students in the Year 10 class completed their courses. From this class, two students will now go on to all mainstream courses in Stage 6, two students will complete a combination of mainstream and Life Skills courses and one student will complete the Stage 6 Life Skills program, allowing all students to work and achieve to their potential.

Ms Chelsea Votano was permanently appointed to the Support Unit, enabling students to participate in Drama lessons. These have provided wonderful opportunities for students in the Support Unit to step outside their comfort zones and explore ways to express themselves.

One of our Year 9 students was successfully integrated into mainstream Visual Arts, meeting all course requirements and showing great

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promise in his artistic talent. Our Year 12 student was successfully linked with an external agency and will receive funding support to transition to work to support him in his journey to full-time employment.

Our gardening program continued to be extremely successful with many wonderful crops harvested including kale, spinach, tomatoes, lettuce, carrots, strawberries and a variety of herbs.

The senior Work and Community class participated successfully in work experience with a special thanks to Woolworths at Rouse Hill and Pet World at Kellyville for their ongoing support. Work experience provides valued opportunities for our students to increase their work readiness skills as well as develop social and emotional maturity. Our work skills students also held car wash sessions and a regular weekly vest washing service, which was greatly appreciated by staff.

Jessica Brackenridge in Year 11 developed a program to teach sport skills to our students during Wednesday afternoon sport and together with her team of helpers, ran a very successful sport program. All students increased their enthusiasm and participation in sport.

In 2013, all students in the Support Unit met outcomes on their Individual Education Plans and our wonderful team of teachers and SLSOs continued to promote engagement, respect and self-motivation in all our students.

Middle Schooling and Transition

Glenwood High School continued its involvement with the Norwest Community of Schools in 2013. The feeder primary schools involved were Caddies Creek Public School, John Palmer Public School, Kellyville Ridge Public School and Parklea Public School.

The transition team conducted a Year 6 pre-transition survey and a Year 7 post-transition survey in 2013 to gain insights into the effectiveness of current transition programs in preparing Year 6 students for high school. The results overwhelmingly indicated that students felt supported during the transition to high school.

The key achievements of the transition team in 2013 included:

ICT-based continuum of learning project: Our goal was to effectively transition student skills in using technology from Year 6 to Year 7. This project involved surveys of both students and teachers which showed us the differences between what our transitioning students know and what our Year 7 teachers thought our students understood.

Year 6 taster lessons: In March, teachers from our school visited the primary schools and presented lessons across a range of subjects.

Year 5 taster lessons: In November, students from the feeder primary schools enjoyed a day at Glenwood High School. They were exposed to educational experiences and were

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able to gain a feel for the school during their visit.

WINGS and the GR8 GATsby: These programs are set up for gifted and talented students to engage in educational programs that extend their learning in specialised areas. At the completion of the WINGS program, the primary school students presented their learning project at a presentation assembly.

Buddies Day: Glenwood High School students visited the primary schools in Term 4 to talk to Year 6 students about their personal experiences with adjusting to high school. The students conducted workshops and spent time answering questions about moving into high school.

Specific transition programs: During Term 4, the Year 7 Adviser for 2014 ran transition programs for students who may have specialised educational needs. This was very successful and allowed these students to experience the high school setting in a supportive environment.

Continued research in this area will see us form closer ties with our feeder school, ease the transition process from primary to high school and ultimately improve our students’ academic and social outcomes.

Careers

In 2013, Glenwood High School had over one hundred and fifty Year 10 students complete work experience. Students had the opportunity to experience a vast array of roles and gain a sense of what it is like to participate in the workforce. This has been a valuable experience for students for many different reasons. Many students have confirmed the pathways they have selected and are now reassured. Others have had to reevaluate their direction based on their placement experiences. Many students realised that working may not be as easy as first thought. On a positive note, students reported that they enjoyed the experience and their confidence grew.

Another excellent outcome from work experience in 2013 was the number of casual job offers students gained through the experience. We have two possible apprenticeships commencing in 2014 and two offers for students to come back to

their employer at the end of Year 12 to commence apprenticeships.

There were thirty three students in Year 11 and Year 12 who successfully completed a TAFE credit or qualification. The specific subject studies included Animal Studies, Automotive, Baking, Beauty Therapy, Business Services, Children’s Services, Construction, Electronics, Entertainment, Financial Services, Health Services Assistance, Metals and Engineering, Music and Performance, Plumbing, Theatre and Screen and Tourism.

There were eleven students accepted into school-based traineeships. The traineeships were in Retail Services, Community Activities, Child Care and Sports and Recreation. Two of these students successfully completed their traineeship in 2013. Our trainee in Child Care attained the First State Training Award in the Regional School Based Traineeship initiative and then went on to become a finalist in the NSW Training Awards.

Debating and Public Speaking

2013 started with sixteen students in Year 7 and Year 8 participating in the Western Sydney Region Debating Workshops. These workshops on debating were held at Glenwood High School. They segued into four school teams from Glenwood High School competing in the Western Sydney Region Debating Competition for Year 7 and Year 8. Our school reached the final of this competition, which was held at the Blacktown City Council Chambers.

Our Year 12 debating team won their zone and reached the regional final of the Western Sydney Premier's Debating Challenge for Year 12, which was held at Chifley College, Shalvey Campus. Our team narrowly lost this final to a Penrith High School team that went on to finish as runners-up in the state final.

Our Year 11 team participated in the Western Sydney Premier's Debating Challenge for Year 11. Our Year 10 debating team won their zone and reached the semi-final stage of the Western Sydney Premier's Debating Challenge for Year 9 and Year 10. David Badea was selected in the Western Sydney Region Junior State Debating Championships team to compete at this event at Sydney University in November. This team reached the semi-final stages of the

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championships, beaten by the North Coast team that went on to win the state final.

Our Year 9 team participated in the Western Sydney Premier's Debating Challenge for Year 9 and Year 10. Our Year 8 team won two of its three debates in the Western Sydney Premier's Debating Challenge for Year 7 and Year 8. Our Year 7 team, new to high school interschool debating, still managed to win one of their zone debates and should also be congratulated on their efforts this year. Maddalyn Bockenham, Nina Matani, Aalapi Sreekumar, Caitlin Legg, Patrick Gleeson, Jonathan King and Joshua Brooks formed the squad for this particular team. Maddalyn Bockenham and Joshua Brooks also represented Glenwood High School in this year's Legacy Junior Public Speaking Award. Archita Sreekumar of Year 12 also represented Glenwood High School in this year’s Sydney Morning Herald Plain English Speaking Award and reached the regional final stage, which was held at the Arts Unit in Lewisham.

Community Mentoring

The community mentoring program at Glenwood High School was coordinated by Ms Zehra Mehdi and Ms Chelsea Votano, in conjunction with a number of other staff members. The rationale for the program was to target Year 11 students who display potential for greater success and would benefit from one-on-one interaction with an adult mentor to encourage them in their career, leadership and personal goals. The program was targeted at students who were neither disengaged nor the highest achieving, but students predicted to achieve Band 5 results.

The mission statement of the mentoring program was to build confidence in the development of personal and career goals in Year 11 students at Glenwood High School. The main aims were to:

1. Make the classroom more meaningful to students by connecting learning to real life applications and creating opportunities for learning beyond the classroom.

2. Provide mentoring opportunities for young people that have a positive impact upon the confidence, self-esteem, career direction and motivation of participants.

3. Expand the awareness of linkages between education and career opportunities in order to improve a participant’s employability, career development and life skills.

The mentoring program aims to build partnerships between local businesses, community groups, individual community members and Glenwood High School by bringing people with experience in life, education and business together with our chosen young participants.

The mentors were sourced from the community and were individuals engaged in a variety of businesses, employment or volunteer organisations, which were matched to the areas of interest of the mentees. It was preferable that mentors were currently involved in their career field or have access to a workplace for the mentee to participate in a shadowing day.

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The program consisted of eight hour-long Monday morning sessions held over the year. In the final session, the mentors and mentees presented a two minute presentation about their year together in the program. In addition to the formal time period, the mentor and mentee had the option to complete a shadowing day that enabled the mentee to visit the mentor in the workplace.

On initial evaluation, the program has been hugely successful with twelve students and mentors completing the program. Those groups that completed the program now have increased confidence. The program will continue in 2014 with most mentors expressing an interest in continuing the program. They are looking forward to meeting their next mentee.

The school is extremely proud of the success of the program. We have noticed tremendous differences in the students and the mentee’s relationship with their mentor. There were very successful interactions during the shadowing days and the mentees developed a strong rapport with community members that they can continue into their professional careers.

Student Volunteering

Glenwood High School operates a student volunteering program. This program has usually focused on students in Year 9 and Year 10, however, Year 12 students also participated in 2013. The challenge for students is to contribute a total of twenty hours of their own time to a range of activities and they are given one year to complete this task. There has been a variety of initiatives in which students were involved:

organising fundraising events for the school

assisting neighbours with household chores and errands

coaching sporting teams outside of school

assisting other students with homework after school or on weekends

donating blood through the Salvation Army

preparing food for activities, churches and temples

organising toy drives and wrapping Christmas presents for the bushfire appeal in the Blue Mountains

In our volunteering program, there was a core group of ten students from Year 9 and Year 10, with five students in Year 12 donating blood for the Salvation Army.

Technology

2013 saw a continued focus on implementing technology across Glenwood High School. The Digital Education Revolution continued to grow with the last rollout of laptops for this program. Glenwood High School chose not to rollout laptops to individual students in Year 9, but instead purchase laptop trolleys and provide them as mobile class sets across all faculties. Graduating students in Year 12 were encouraged to donate their laptops back to the school, which was received very positively. Several class sets of older laptops have now gone back into use as school resources.

The Library was partly remodeled to accommodate the installation of fifteen workstations, each with the latest desktop computers. This involved the purchase of custom made furniture, network cabling and electrical work. The end result was a well-built, highly functional addition to our computing resources,

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which are available to students outside of class time.

Three additional interactive white boards have been purchased and incorporated into our classrooms. This builds on the installation of eighteen multimedia projectors across all KLAs in 2012. The school also purchased many other resources aimed at improving the delivery of ICT, including colour printers and video glasses for filming practical tasks in VET.

Through the T4L Program, an additional thirty eight desktop computers were purchased and installed.

The technology team attended training on Adobe Connect, Bring Your Own Device, Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop to name a few. Staff continue the strong tradition of having experts in software train their colleagues during school development days. This allows staff to see cross-curricular ideas and techniques for incorporating technology into learning.

In 2013, the technology team continued its focus on developing and delivering teacher training on the use of Adobe and Microsoft software, as well as many other Web 2.0 programs. The main focus of 2013 was our involvement in the continuum of learning project in partnership with the transition team. This saw us working with colleagues in our feeder primary schools in developing a snapshot of our Year 6 students, with the goal of delivering a Stage 4 curriculum that is catered for their specific skills.

Future Directions

The Future Directions program was coordinated this year by Ms Chelsea Votano. Future Directions has been designed to assist students who are interested in workplace options or would benefit from direction and guidance as they progress through school. This program assists students with planning and managing their transition to a range of post-school education, training and employment options, through the provision of learning experiences that address work readiness goals.

In 2013, the group of sixteen students were chosen in consultation with the relevant deputy principals and year advisers. The Future Directions program focuses on the following:

career development and preparation

using Individual Transition Plans to plan goals

regular monitoring and follow-up

locating, reviewing, assessing and effectively using career information

utilising the My Future website and other online resources

introducing resume writing

providing opportunities to complete the white card course, first aid certificate or other applicable courses

personal management including self-knowledge and personal growth

participation in the Rock and Water program which aims to build and maintain a positive self-awareness, develop a consciousness of the student’s own power and role within society and develop the ability to interact effectively with others

life-long learning

the role of TAFE and TAFE pathways, university, community colleges, paid and unpaid work, volunteering, community and social support organisations

building employability skills through school, community and volunteering opportunities

developing knowledge of preferences, abilities and interests

work experience opportunities and employer interactions

banking and budgeting

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applying for a Tax File Number

In 2013, students explored a range of options for post-school study and employment. One aspect of this was the Try a Skill Day. Students attended a practical day that exposed them to a range of career paths, including roles such as a meteorologist, computer programmer, mechanic, beautician, artist, chef and bricklayer.

Students were able to achieve their white card and all applicants earned this credential to allow them to work in the construction industry.

In 2013, there was a volunteering component and our Future Directions students were peer readers for the Support Unit at Glenwood High School. Every Friday during Connect, Future Directions students would visit the Support Unit to listen to and assist the support students with their reading as well as their social skills.

The program was extremely successful and the growth in confidence in both groups has been very obvious. Furthermore, Future Directions students travelled to Evans High School and taught games to support students there, which included refugee students and students with

language difficulties. It provided Future Directions students an opportunity to explore other communities and to work on their social skills.

Overall, the success of the program can be measured in the confidence and growth in maturity of the students. Each student has developed in some way over the year and they should be very proud of what they have achieved.

New Staff Induction

In 2013, the induction program at Glenwood High School was facilitated by the Head Teacher – Mentor and all teachers who were new to the school were required to participate. The program has two parts and all new teachers attended the general school induction that familiarises them with the school’s expectations, policies, procedures and key personnel. Experienced teachers were only required to complete this part of the induction program, however, those teachers who were new to teaching continued their training by completing the beginning teacher induction.

This consisted of a series of sessions that were designed to provide development in regard to the NSWIT and AITSL Professional Teaching Standards. Areas such as the role of the teacher, effective communication, classroom management, professional responsibilities, quality teaching and the accreditation process were all covered in these sessions. A condensed version of the program was repeated at the start of Term 2 and Term 3, which allowed those new teachers appointed to the school later in the year to also complete an induction.

By delivering these comprehensive induction programs, the school is ensuring that new and inexperienced teachers are supported through

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professional development and this, as a consequence, has enhanced student learning outcomes. In 2013, six beginning teachers completed the full induction program and another two new but experienced teachers completed the general school induction.

Positive Behaviour for Learning

During 2013, the Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL) team continued to refine systems and implement innovations to further encourage, teach and reward pro-social and learning assistive behaviour.

The PBL value of the week was introduced on Mondays by the Deputy Principal during assembly and then discussed further during Connect lessons on Tuesdays.

Short PBL update segments were embedded into staff and executive meetings.

Revamped PBL meetings were solution-focused, succinct and regularly attended by student leaders.

A simplified version of the PBL matrix was created and will be refined and circulated in 2014.

The PBL Handbook was utilised by the Head Teacher – Mentor for the induction of new staff new at Glenwood High School.

A Year 7 PBL Familiarisation Booklet was created and its twelve mini-lessons were delivered in Connect lessons during Term 1 to induct the new cohort into our PBL practices.

At the end of Term 4, a student forum was held to evaluate our current reward system and gather student input in order to consider changes. These findings will form the basis of modifications to the rewards system in 2014.

Some of our PBL team leaders, the Learning Support Team and the Head Teacher – Welfare attended the Tier 2 PBL intervention training in September. Planning for the implementation of selected Tier 2 Interventions is ongoing. Following a short and successful trial of the ‘Check In / Check Out’ intervention by the Head Teacher – Welfare, this intervention will be introduced by year advisers in 2014 for specially selected students who require additional

organisational and behavioural support. The year advisers were given a truncated version of the Tier 2 intervention training at the welfare conference at the end of Term 4.

The most notable success of the PBL process at Glenwood High School in 2013 was the house spirit initiative. Ms Heather Pieris was appointed as the inaugural House Captain Coordinator and under her enthusiastic guidance, the house captains established much wider recognition of house identity amongst the student body. Their successful strategies included a litter initiative through house coloured bins, coloured capes for house captains at sports carnivals, lunchtime house competitions for Year 7 and Year 8 students and an end of year house reward day.

The revamped house system has led to increased school spirit and greater cohesiveness across the student body and the creation of an increased sense of belonging.

Drug Education

Glenwood High School uses curricular and extracurricular education programs to implement our drug education policy and initiatives to promote student wellbeing and connectedness. The Year 8 and Year 9 curriculum offers modules where students learn about the risks of alcohol, tobacco and illicit drugs, each with their own set of specific educational outcomes.

Drug education in junior and senior years, including the Year 11 Crossroads program, aims to do the following:

engage students in their learning about health and drug issues

promote student acquisition of knowledge to support informed health choices

heighten student understanding of the implications of drug use

ensure students recognise the values and attitudes that may influence lifestyle choices and behaviour

develop in students the skills and strategies necessary to minimise drug-related harm at both the personal and community levels

increase family communication

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develop in students a sense of connectedness to school, family and community

improve family management of drug-related issues

facilitate access to other community health services

School Planning and Evaluation 2012 - 2014

School Evaluation Processes

NSW public schools conduct evaluations to support the effective implementation of the school plan. The processes used include:

executive conferences focused on the implementation of the school plan

a teams structure involving all staff members, with specific teams responsible for the implementation of certain aspects of the school plan

monitoring of the implementation of the school plan by the senior executive

EARS and TARS processes to ensure the accountability of all staff.

School Planning 2012 - 2014: Progress in 2013

School Priority 1

To increase teacher capacity to engage students and develop their requisite skills for the 21st century through innovative, explicit pedagogy and quality teaching practice aligned to the Australian Curriculum.

Evidence of progress towards outcomes in 2013:

The school had an in-depth focus on professional learning aligned to the

Australian Curriculum through the completion of mandatory professional learning courses on the structure and implementation of the Australian Curriculum. These courses were delivered at school development days and staff meetings throughout the year. Head teachers then used faculty meetings to provide a KLA-specific focus on this professional learning.

School development days focused more on faculty planning than in previous years, to ensure that all faculties had adequate time to plan for the implementation of the Australian Curriculum.

In terms of 21st century learning skills, the school retained the 2013 release of DER laptops for the use of the whole school, rather than provide these laptops to Year 9 students. This has allowed the school to create numerous banks of laptop trolleys which are used within classrooms for interactive lessons that promote 21st century learning skills. The school will also retain its Technical Support Officer into the future to ensure there remains an emphasis on technology in classroom practice.

The school executive planned a whole school project-based learning experience for Year 7 (2014) students with a thematic approach to learning in a multidisciplinary manner, focused on the theme of ‘the playground’. The aim of the project is to focus on the explicit teaching of 21st century learning skills through problem-solving and critical thinking.

The school has continued to use professional learning plans for teachers to empower head teachers to provide advice and guidance on improvements to teaching practice.

Strategies to achieve these outcomes in 2014:

Further professional learning time will be allocated to the core faculties as they plan in 2014 to implement the new Australian Curriculum for Year 8 and Year 10 students in 2015.

Faculties which are yet to implement new syllabus documents as a part of the Australian Curriculum will continue to develop implementation plans, create resources, share ideas and contribute to the curriculum development process.

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The 2014 school conference will focus on the theme of ‘differentiation’ to enhance the skills of teachers in differentiating lessons for students, with an emphasis on gifted and talented education.

The school will continue to use professional learning plans and ensure these align with the new Australian Professional Standards for Teachers from AITSL.

The senior executive team will provide explicit leadership training to the executive team to emphasis the central role of leadership in driving and initiating schoolwide improvement.

School Priority 2

To increase the number of students moving into a higher band in the 2014 HSC by 1%.

Glenwood High School has now had five cohorts of Year 12 students complete the HSC. The school has developed a high performance culture reflected in strong HSC results. This has firmly established the academic reputation of the school with the school achieving its best ever HSC results in 2013.

Our achievements included the following. For the purposes of this analysis, the first figure outlines the results from 2012 and the second figure outlines the results from 2013. In terms of ‘higher bands’, this refers to the number of students achieving Band 5 or Band 6 results.

Ancient History: An increase from 12.06% to 20.58% of students achieving Band 5/6 results.

Business Studies: An increase from 23.92% to 28.04% of students achieving Band 5/6 results.

Community and Family Studies: An increase from 31.25% to 37.50% of students achieving Band 5/6 results.

Dance: An increase from 0% to 83.33% of students achieving Band 5/6 results.

Earth and Environmental Science: An increase from 8.33% to 33.33% of students achieving Band 5/6 results.

Economics: An increase from 25% to 46.66% of students achieving Band 5/6 results.

Food Technology: An increase from 0% to 12.50% of students achieving Band 5/6 results.

Industrial Technology: An increase from 0% to 13.33% of students achieving Band 5/6 results.

Information Processes and Technology: An increase from 28.57% to 33.32% of students achieving Band 5/6 results.

Legal Studies: An increase from 18.42% to 37.83% of students achieving Band 5/6 results.

Software Design and Development: An increase from 7.40% to 28.12% of students achieving Band 5/6 results.

Visual Arts: An increase from 18.75% to 33.33% of students achieving Band 5/6 results.

There is a need to focus on the following courses, which recorded less students receiving results in the higher bands than in 2012: Biology, Chemistry, Design and Technology, Engineering Studies, English (Standard), English (Advanced), General Mathematics, Mathematics, Modern History, Music 1, PD/H/PE, Physics and French Beginners.

Overall, the school achieved excellent HSC results in 2013.


The school recorded an increase in the number of Band 6 results across HSC courses, resulting in the best HSC results for the school in its history.

The school has renewed its focus on ALARM (A Learning and Responding Matrix) pedagogy to promote best practice in written responses.

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Training was provided to staff members at the school conference on multiple choice writing and responding, including an overview of best practice for quality assessment tasks.


The school will change its direction with regard to ALARM pedagogy. The school will create an ALARM team with representatives from each faculty. This will ensure that more time will be devoted to training in ALARM pedagogy through Monday afternoon teams meetings three times per term. The ALARM pedagogy will also be rebranded to ensure it remains relevant to Glenwood High School.

The school will provide a greater focus on the Results Analysis Package from the NSW Board of Studies, Teaching and Educational Standards through training focused on providing teachers with the skills to target improvements in their teaching and learning.

The school conference in 2014 will focus on gifted and talented education and strategies to cater to the needs of our highest achievers.

The study room for senior students will be coordinated by the three deputy principals to provide a more rigorous approach to HSC preparation for students studying less than twelve units.

School Priority 3

To increase the percentage of Year 9 students achieving more than the state average in the top two bands in reading and writing in NAPLAN.

In terms of Year 9 reading, there were 17.2% of students in the top two bands in 2012 and 17.0% of students in the top two bands in 2013. As a result, there was a slight decrease of 0.2%.

In terms of Year 9 writing, there were 18.2% of students in the top two bands in 2012 and 17.7% of students in the top two bands in 2013. As a result, there was a slight decrease of 0.5%.


The school has refined its NAPLAN preparation program for Year 9 students. This operates in Term 1 each year and

2012 Year 9 NAPLAN Reading

5 6 7 8 9 10

13 42 79 68 34 8

5.3 17.2 32.4 27.9 13.9 3.3

4.5 17.3 30.6 28.6 14.9 4.2

4.2 14.0 27.1 29.0 19.0 6.8

9.8 20.5 26.9 22.3 14.0 6.5



SSG % in Band 2012

568.5587.4

School

Band

Number in Band

Percentage in Bands



State DECSSG

2013 Year 9 NAPLAN Reading

5 6 7 8 9 10

6 47 86 71 36 7

2.4 18.6 34.0 28.1 14.2 2.8

4.2 17.9 30.6 27.9 15.2 4.1

2.6 13.1 27.0 31.0 21.2 5.1

6.9 21.2 27.4 23.5 15.9 5.1


State DECSSG

574.8593.5

School

Band

Number in Band

Percentage in Bands




SSG % in Band 2013

2012 Year 9 NAPLAN Writing


5 6 7 8 9 10

30 49 55 64 20 24

12.4 20.3 22.7 26.5 8.3 9.9

13.9 17.8 21.8 26.3 12.1 8.2

25.6 20.9 18.7 18.5 9.0 7.2

Band

Average score, 2012


Number in Band

Percentage in Bands

SSG % in Band 2012

564.8 568.7 540.3

State DECSSGSchool

2013 Year 9 NAPLAN Writing


5 6 7 8 9 10

46 48 61 54 34 11

18.1 18.9 24.0 21.3 13.4 4.3

13.4 17.9 24.2 26.0 10.7 7.8

12.3 18.9 25.7 26.6 10.2 6.4

24.9 21.7 20.6 18.7 8.1 6.1

553.5 562.7 534.2

State DECSSGSchool

Band

Average score, 2013


Number in Band

Percentage in Bands

SSG % in Band 2013


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provides students with opportunities to improve their literacy skills through Connect classes.

School Priority 4

To increase the number of Year 9 students achieving above the state average in numeracy in NAPLAN.

Since NAPLAN began, Glenwood High School has performed well in numeracy. This target demonstrates the school’s commitment to ensuring that numeracy is given particular attention as a skill set within many KLAs.

In 2013, the school’s average for Year 9 numeracy was 587.6 compared with the state average of 584.4. As a result, the school was slightly above the state average. On another positive note, the school average for girls was 586.6, which exceeded the regional average of 579.0. There were 9.2% of Year 9 students below the national minimum standard in numeracy. The school was underrepresented in the Band 10 (highest) category as 15.1% of Year 9 students in the state received Band 10 results whereas only 11.9% of our Year 9 students achieved Band 10 results. On a positive note, students at Glenwood High School were overrepresented in Band 8 and the percentage of students in Band 9 exceeded the percentage of students in the state. Additionally, the percentage of Glenwood High School students in Band 5 (the lowest band) was much lower than the state average.

Glenwood High School also participated in the Australian Mathematics Competition and organised a number of excursions to enable students to develop a real world understanding of the practical application of numeracy skills. In 2013, our school also implemented a new team structure, with a separation of the literacy and numeracy teams. The numeracy team focused on studying NAPLAN results for Year 7 and Year 9 in 2012 and 2013, and used these results to inform teaching practices across all KLAs.


The school has refined its NAPLAN preparation program for Year 9 students. This operates in Term 1 each year and provides students with opportunities to improve their numeracy skills through Connect classes.

2012 Year 9 NAPLAN Numeracy

5 6 7 8 9 10

5 55 57 64 38 23

2.1 22.7 23.6 26.5 15.7 9.5

2.6 17.8 27.2 26.9 15.5 10.0

1.8 14.9 27.4 26.5 18.5 10.9

5.6 25.5 26.1 18.5 11.7 12.7

Number in Band

Percentage in Bands


SSG % in Band 2012


585.4Average score, 2012 589.9 600.7


Band


2013 Year 9 NAPLAN Numeracy

5 6 7 8 9 10

16 49 61 65 31 30

6.3 19.4 24.2 25.8 12.3 11.9

3.4 17.6 26.7 27.0 15.2 10.2

4.6 14.9 25.5 23.3 16.6 15.1

11.0 21.3 25.0 17.3 10.4 15.1



584.4Average score, 2013 587.6 601.4


Band

Number in Band

Percentage in Bands


SSG % in Band 2013

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School Priority 5

To maximise student engagement through strategic intervention and positive recognition of student achievement as measured by PBL data.

Glenwood High School is a school that adopts a Positive Behaviour for Learning approach in many facets of school systems and organisation. As a PBL school, we always aim to improve student achievement through the principles of PBL. In 2013, we made significant advances in this area.


The PBL Handbook continued to be used as a central reference point for staff training and induction. This enhanced the ability of new staff members to quickly understand the school’s expectations of students and expectations of staff in using the common language of PBL. It also assisted staff members in understanding the rewards system. The PBL Handbook was accompanied by a ‘welcome package’ to ensure a high level of commitment to PBL by our new staff members.

The school’s PBL matrix was simplified at the end of 2013 to create a credit card size version for easy reference by students. This is in addition to the traditional and more detailed PBL matrix which will still be used for other purposes, including at the point of enrolment for new students.

The school’s house system, which was revamped in 2012, continued to be improved in 2013. This commenced with students sitting in house groups (rather than grade groups) for assemblies on Mondays. This led to a renewed sense of house spirit as students identified with members of their house in other grades. Regular activities at lunch times and sporting carnivals, including ‘Connect Wars’ based on house groups, further reinforced the house structure. Students in Coolabah, the winning house in 2013, attended a reward afternoon.

Use of the PBL value of the week as a part of values education through explicit teaching during Connect time.

The school trialled the use of ‘Check In / Check Out’, which is a Tier 2 PBL intervention. This proved to be effective in helping

targeted students improve their behaviour and satisfaction at school.

A student forum was held investigating ways to improve the school’s rewards system.

Hundreds of house points were assigned to students in 2013. This is the second year of the house points system and teachers used this system to recognise student achievement and positive behaviour.

In terms of PBL and iSchool data, the following categories recorded decreases from 2012 to 2013:

aggressive behaviour

banned items

behaviour in class

bullying and harassment

N-award warnings

truancy

There were no increases in any significant welfare categories, which demonstrates that school’s adherence to PBL principles throughout the year has been effective.

However, there was a reduction in the number of commendations across the school. This indicates the need to regularly reemphasise the importance of recording positive data in relation to student achievement and behaviour.


Continued use of the school’s PBL Handbook.

Implementation of the new version of the PBL matrix and displayed in classrooms.

Further refinement of the house system with the support of house captains through initiatives such as Spirit Week and house points to promote house spirit.

Monitoring of Tuesday Connect time to ensure that the PBL value of the week is being taught across the school.

Expansion of the ‘Check In / Check Out’ Tier 2 PBL intervention based on training provided to the welfare team in 2013 to support students identified as experiencing difficulty.

Implementation of recommendations from the student forum on ways to improve the school’s rewards system.

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Professional Learning

Glenwood High School is comprised of 112 teaching and executive staff (including part-time and temporary staff), 17 office staff members and 7 school learning support officers.

The syllabus implementation budget allowed $250 to be spent, per faculty member, on relevant teacher professional learning (TPL), totalling $22,565. Additionally, $34,500 of TPL funds were used to support beginning teachers, use of ICT, quality teaching, literacy and numeracy, leadership and career development, and welfare and equity.

A further $17,988 of additional TPL grant money was used to support the professional development of staff in developing new programs and implementing the new curriculum. Total school expenditure on teacher professional learning for 2013 was $75,053.

All teaching and executive staff, counsellors and school learning support officers participated in all school development days. Office staff attended TPL activities on these days as directed by the Principal.

In 2013, Glenwood High School supported fifteen New Scheme Teachers working towards accreditation. Additionally, Glenwood High School supported thirty three New Scheme Teachers maintaining accreditation at Professional Competence.

Throughout 2013, the teacher professional learning team continued to offer a wide variety of professional development opportunities to all staff to support quality teaching and learning at Glenwood High School. This included:

an ongoing focus on, and preparation for, the implementation of the new curriculum in four KLAs

building teacher capacity to meet the needs of students of the 21st century

developing teacher capacity to cater for a diverse range of student needs and abilities in the classroom including the impact of the Every Student, Every School policy and the Disability Discrimination Act, in the classroom context, including the completion of the mandatory DDA e-learning course

the development of effective professional learning plans for all teachers.

A joint school development day with the Norwest Community of Schools was the first of our formal professional development events for 2013. As an educational community, we engaged in three workshops led by Dr Mike Nagel. This was an enormously successful and motivating event which contributed to the success of our subsequent school development days in 2013.

With the implementation of the new curriculum occurring in 2014, our school development days across 2013 focused on addressing key issues relating to teaching and learning in this new educational context. Modules from DEC interactive online courses (Teaching and the New Curriculum, Your School and the New Syllabuses and Programming for Quality Teaching and Assessing) were facilitated at Glenwood High School for all staff in a series of workshops. Teachers were encouraged to explore the context of the 21st century learner, the diversity of students within the classroom, the skills valued in a rapidly evolving global community and the ways in which pedagogy is developing and adapting to meet these demands. Furthermore, staff were able to familiarise themselves with the new syllabuses and begin working in writing teams to prepare engaging new programs of study for Year 7 and Year 9 students in 2014. This professional development was aided through an additional teacher professional learning grant.

Those faculties not implementing a new syllabus in 2014 were provided with the opportunity, as directed by their faculty head teacher, to identify an area of professional development which would be of most benefit to the faculty and to reevaluate a program to enrich curriculum delivery in their subjects in order to enhance student learning. Alternately, these faculties could explore aspects of their new syllabuses, if available, and plan how their current programs may be adapted to meet the requirements of the

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new curriculum. These workshops proved to be enormously valuable and contributed to more accessible and engaging programs delivered to Glenwood High School students across 2013 and into 2014. All professional development sessions were completed with positivity and purpose.

The inaugural Glenwood High School conference was conducted mid-year, with great success. The focus of the conference was effective assessment. All faculties had the opportunity to evaluate and revise their own assessment writing practices and to ensure that in the construction of assessment tasks, staff members were using Board of Studies resources and backward mapping. The conference also focused on designing assessment tasks around course descriptors and writing tasks from rubrics. With the success of this first conference and positive feedback from staff, Glenwood High School plans to make this an annual professional learning event.

Teacher professional learning plans and our EARS and TARS processes were revisited throughout 2013 as a means of improving the focus at Glenwood High School on delivering quality teaching and learning. This included time during faculty meetings and school development days to engage in professional dialogue and reflect on current teaching practices. This has been enormously beneficial to both staff and students.

In 2014, A Learning and Responding Matrix (ALARM) will be a focus area for professional development as we begin to embed its practices into our Stage 4 and Stage 5 curriculum. The newly formed ALARM team will liaise with the TPL team to provide consistent professional learning activities to support staff in implementing this pedagogical approach. In faculty groups, staff will engage in workshops designed to assist them in enhancing student capacity to respond in a more detailed and sophisticated manner to the variety of questions encountered in both internal and external assessments and examinations. Additionally, staff members from each faculty will be invited to engage in professional learning through observing the implementation of ALARM at a classroom level. Differentiation will also be a priority area in 2014. In 2014, our second annual school conference will focus on catering for all students, particularly those identified as gifted and talented students and the modification of

classroom practices and assessment tasks for all students with a learning difficulty.

At an executive level, conferences throughout 2013 focused on key management and educational leadership issues and have linked to the development of school targets. Some of the topics included SMART data, analysis of NAPLAN and HSC results, improving classroom practice, gifted and talented education, project-based learning and the new curriculum.

Parent/Caregiver, Student and Teacher Satisfaction

In 2013, the school sought the opinions of parents, students and teachers about the school. Their responses are presented below. Using the SchoolMap surveys from the NSW Department of Education and Communities, our school surveyed both parents and teachers using similar questions to compare the different perspectives of both parents and teachers on similar issues. Overall, the results of the SchoolMap surveys indicated high levels of satisfaction with the school in the targeted areas of teaching and learning.

In terms of the teachers who were surveyed, 100% of respondents indicated that they almost always or usually provided learning opportunities within a stimulating and secure environment. Teachers nominated the following areas as strengths for Glenwood High School:

communication about student learning between home and school

using a wide range of appropriate resources to assist students with their learning

high expectations of students

However, 33% of teachers surveyed indicated that students needed to take more responsibility for their learning. In addition, 52.3% of teachers

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surveyed indicated that students only sometimes reflected on their learning and engaged in self-reflection.

Teachers surveyed indicated strong support for the school’s professional learning program. In addition, 90.7% of teachers surveyed indicated that they almost always or usually share ideas and experiences with colleagues to improve teaching practice.

Over one hundred parents responded to the survey. In terms of the parents who were surveyed, the following were identified as areas for improvement:

communication from teachers about their child’s learning

students using work samples to improve their academic performance

In terms of parents, 64.8% agreed that their child’s classroom is almost always or usually an interesting place to learn. Most parents were satisfied with the amount and quality of teaching resources within the school.

Significantly, 82.9% of parents surveyed indicated that the learning at Glenwood High School is almost always or usually regarded as important to their children.

As a result, two key areas for consideration in 2014 are ensuring that:

the school communicates more effectively with parents on a variety of matters

student work samples are used more regularly to improve student learning outcomes

In terms of students, the school participated in the statewide trial of the Tell Them From Me survey. This new survey mechanism of the NSW Department of Education and Communities examines a range of outcomes across social-emotional and academic domains.

The Tell Them From Me survey data indicates that our student population is underrepresented in art, drama, music, extracurricular and school-based groups. Only 19% of students at Glenwood High School indicated that they participated in such programs, compared with the state average of 43%. Another area for improvement is the regular completion of homework, in particular for Year 8 students, which was below the state average.

On a positive note, 80% of students indicated that they have friends at school they can trust and who encourage them to make positive choices, which is compared with the state average of 76%.

In terms of whether students believe that education will benefit them personally and economically, students at Glenwood High School were roughly at the state average for this survey item.

Pleasingly, truancy rates for students at Glenwood High School are at only half the statewide rate, demonstrating the importance the school places on monitoring attendance and liaising with parents. In addition, students self-assessed themselves and in total, 87% stated that they never breach the school’s discipline policy.

In terms of student perspectives of the performance of the school, these were commensurate with the state average in terms of:

effective use of learning time

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relevance of classroom instruction

academic rigour

positive teacher-student relationships

positive learning climate

expectations for success

The school has nominated to participate in the 2014 survey to provide the school with comparison data.

About This Report

In preparing this report, the self-evaluation committee has gathered information from evaluations conducted during the year and analysed other information about the school's practices and student learning outcomes. The self-evaluation committee and school planning committee have determined targets for the school's future development.

Erla McMaster, Principal

Mark Sutton, Deputy Principal

Belinda Young, Deputy Principal

Donna Healy, Deputy Principal

Richard Schiliro, Head Teacher – Mentor

Gai Laughton, Head Teacher – Support

Karen O’Connor, Head Teacher – PD/H/PE

Emmanuel Karayiannis, Head Teacher – HSIE

Amanda Atkinson, Head Teacher – Mathematics

Faye Nash, Head Teacher – Secondary Studies

Elizabeth Rose, Head Teacher – Administration

Rani Levett, Head Teacher – Teaching & Learning

Tulay Cambaz, SRC Coordinator

George Zivkovic, Debating Coordinator

Sheridan Southall, Sports Coordinator

Tom Nichols, Duke of Edinburgh Coordinator

Simone Fevre, Careers Adviser

Donna Salt, ESL Teacher

Peter Neale, Learning and Support Teacher

Jody Lindsay, Support Unit Teacher

Chelsea Votano, Mentoring Coordinator

School Contact Information

Glenwood High School Forman Avenue and Glenwood Park Drive Glenwood, NSW 2768

Ph: 9629 9577

Fax: 9629 2796

Email: [email protected]

Web: www.glenwood-h.schools.nsw.edu.au

School Code: 8268

Parents can find more information about Annual School Reports, how to interpret information in the report and have the opportunity to provide feedback about the report at:

https://detwww.det.nsw.edu.au/high-

performance/annual-school-reports

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.glenwood-h.schools.nsw.edu.au/

https://detwww.det.nsw.edu.au/high-performance/annual-school-reports

https://detwww.det.nsw.edu.au/high-performance/annual-school-reports

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GLENWOOD HIGH SCHOOL · · 2019-10-11attendance at Glenwood High School has risen with 93.1% of students attending each day on average. Sixty three students were congratulated on